Harry Potter and the Wrath of the Abaddon
by G. D. Gauss
Summary: The whole of Hogwarts is being surrounded by a raging natural disaster, threatening to destroy everything. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are solving the mystery behind the professors' strange behavior. Is everyone in grave danger? R/R!
1. The Windy Night

Yes, I know... time for the nasty copyright stuff...  
Blah, blah, blah... I do not own Harry Potter, names, ideas, etc... They are copyrighted by Warner Bros. and J. K. Rowling. This is a non-profit work of fanfiction.  
The plot, though, is MINE! It may not be copied or reproduced in any way, shape, or form (Unless J. K. wants to use my idea!! lol), without my prior written consent.  
  
NOTES: Yay!!! I FINALLY finished chapter 7! YAYAY!! And I've started chapter 8. I finally got up off my fat butt and DID something!!! Be proud of me! Now, go read 7 and 8 and tell me what you think by REVIEWING! *cries* I havn't gotten a single review in over two weeks!!  


  
CHAPTER ONE  
THE WINDY NIGHT  


  
The dream was the most unrealistic of dreams, with swirling dark colors, flashes of light, and booms and angry crashes sounding like thunder. It was enough to make your heart stand still as the invisible forces pulled you into the depths of the violent whirl pool. Even though the visualization was like a storm described by words, the movements felt real. You were being dragged and pushed into the wrath of the stormy enigma...  
THUD!  
Harry Potter awoke to a hard knock on the head, given by his bedside table. He found himself lying on the floor next to his bed, with the comforter pulled halfway off and tossed and wrapped violently about him. Both of his hands were clinging to it tightly as if for dear life. He tried to push himself up on his elbows, but the room looked a foggy mess and he decided it was best that he lay back down until his eyes focused. It was then he realized that the room was foggy simply because he wasn't wearing his glasses.  
Harry sat up, thinking himself an idiot, and reached up on the bedside table in search of his round-framed glasses. He found them, but not before clumsily knocking them to the floor... from where they landed came a cracking sound. Harry cringed at the noise, both cursing himself for being such a klutz and hoping he didn't wake his four other roommates. He managed to find them despite his fuzzy vision, and in the dim light he made out a thick crack in the left lens. Time for a repair, he thought, and raised his hand to the table again to search for his wand.  
It, of course, was not there. He left it in the pocket of his robes he had worn the day before. Wrenching himself free of the comforter, he crawled on his hands and knees to his trunk at the end of his bed and grabbed at the first pile of black fabric he saw. He searched through the folds and found what he could feel was his wand. After shoving the robes back into the trunk, he pointed his wand at his glasses and whispered "repairo!" Tiny sparks emitted from the wand and the crack in the lens disappeared as if it was never there.  
Finally satisfied that he could do something without making another mistake, Harry put his glasses back on as he stood and put his wand where he could find it on the table. He decided he was too awake to go back to sleep. _It's too early to be up, though!_ he thought, _what am I going to do for four or five hours? _ As if answering his question, a large swatting sound drew his attention quickly to the window. He realized it was a twig being hurled at it. It was the first time he noticed that there was a violent wind outside, blowing and battering against the window panes. He also noticed a soft light just barely visible on the horizon. So it wasn't as early as he thought. He guessed that it was probably around 5 o'clock.  
Harry sat himself on his four-poster bed and pulled the covers back on into a heap. What was that dream about? He could hardly remember it, though there really wasn't much to remember. It was simply a tumbling mass of shadows and quick flashes of light like a storm. Very odd, indeed. Like most of his other vivid dreams, Harry guessed that it meant something. Only this one was different... Instead of living a realistic scene like riding on the back of an owl or watching Lord Voldemort plot his evil plans, it was a feeling; a vision of shapes and colors and sounds... though none really audible or visible. It was a sense... knowing things were there but not seeing or hearing them. Harry had never had any other dream like it.  
Harry stood at the window sill, staring down towards the black waters of the lake, waves rising in the violent gusts of wind, blurring and tearing apart the reflection of the crescent moon. He was lost in thought, mostly about his dream.  
Before too long, the very tip of the sun finally poked above the mountains in the east. At least... Harry thought it was the sun. Thick, deep gray clouds had moved in over night and were blocking the sun's rays, casting shadows over the landscape and after a few moments, over the Hogwarts castle. No light shone through the window into the room, no reflection on the lake, no light to announce the new day... which just happened to be Monday.  
Harry hated Mondays. Mondays meant another long week of school which, in his past life, meant more visits from Dudley's gang: chased and dumped into garbage cans, constantly beaten on... But since Harry's first year at Hogwarts, it had all changed along with his entire perspective. Instead of being bullied around by his fellow students, it was a professor... one in particular. And his class just happened to be Harry's first for the day. After breakfast, Harry was to go straight to potions class with Professor Snape. Over the weekend, they had been assigned an essay on the uses of Asphodel. Of course, Hermione Granger had done it the very afternoon Snape announced it, and Ron Weasley had his usual session of complaining before doing a five minute job of it. Harry, however, had a rough time getting through it. He couldn't think all weekend and he spent two whole hours on the introductory paragraph. Even though he took his time, he knew Snape would still make up some kind of excuse to give him a bad grade on it.  
He always did.  
  


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	2. The Abaddon

CHAPTER TWO  
THE ABADDON  


  
The sun refused to shine that afternoon, missing its usual appearance at dawn and staying away all day. Dark, angry clouds rolled slowly and menacingly overhead in its absence. The Hogwarts castle was covered in shadows, looking more eerie than it already was.  
Across the grounds towards the forbidden forest, which seemed to almost radiate with anger, Hagrid's small hut stood under the deep gray sky. The group of twenty or so pupils stood by the garden watching Hagrid trying to force a small donkey-like creature through a gate. It obviously did not want to cooperate today.  
"These Mayan Unicorns are much easier to 'andle than our own native ones," Hagrid grunted, finally using the rope to make a sort of sling and pull the now braying animal into the pen "but ten times as stubborn, they are."  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were standing by the gate and Ron reached over to close it behind Hagrid so the creature didn't run out between his legs.  
Suddenly, from the western sky came a streak of lightning that pierced the clouds. Startled, everyone stared up and watched till a loud rumble came from above that seemed to dare anyone to mention a storm.  
"It's about ten miles away, I'd say." Hagrid said, staring out in the distance; but just as soon as he said that, a soft wind started to blow and another lightning bolt shot from the Heavens. Only eight seconds after, a low roar came from the same direction.  
The students began to whisper amongst themselves, pointing at the sky. Harry stared towards the horizon where the lighting was coming from and almost had an expression of longing. Hermione glanced at him raising an eyebrow and waved a hand in front of his face. "Harry, what's the matter?"  
Harry blinked and glanced around at her almost as if coming from a trance. "Oh... nothing. I just hope we have a storm, that's all."  
He saw the expression of disbelief on her face and grinned. "I love storms!"  
"I guess..." she said, and turned around to face Ron.... who had disappeared.  
Ron was leaning on the fence, talking to Hagrid. A few moments later he walked back over to Harry and Hermione with a wide grin. "Guess what? They might give us the rest of the day off!"  
Hermione almost looked insulted. "What? Why?"  
"I don't know, he didn't tell me. Isn't it great though? We could stay up in Gryffindor tower and have a party in the common room all day!" Ron was starting to look so enthusiastic, they were afraid he would explode at the slightest hint of them not getting the day off after all.  
"Why would they cancel all our classes because of a silly storm?" Harry asked, looking almost as miffed as Hermione.  
"I know," said Hermione, "something's not right. Perhaps we could ask a professor... I mean, I doubt they'd tell us since they hardly ever do during these situations. Yet, of course it's worth a try."  
Ron obviously couldn't understand why the other two were upset at this new turn of events. "What's the matter with you? Have you gone mad? _They're giving us the day off_!" he said, poking a finger hard on Hermione's head, which she swatted away.  
"Ron, they wouldn't just do that because of a storm! It's not like the castle runs on electricity!" said Hermione, now glaring.  
"What does... 'eckeltricity' have to do with a storm?"  
Harry chuckled a little, forgetting that Ron's knowledge of the Muggle world was very limited coming from a wizarding household.  
"Never mind that. The point is, what if something has gone wrong. Naturally they wouldn't tell us to keep us from panicking."  
"Hermione, you're already overreacting about this. Besides, if there were something really wrong that would threaten our well-being I think they'd let us know." Ron had now started walking away towards the castle with the rest of the class. Harry took a quick glance back at Hermione as if to say 'You know, for once, I think he's right.' and jogged off to catch up with Ron.  
Hermione was truly left alone with this and didn't let either of them forget it as they made their way into the Great Hall for lunch.  
Harry had decided that it would be much safer if he sat himself between Hermione and Ron. He caught them shooting each other fuming looks when they had come inside the doors.  
Indeed, before the food appeared onto the golden plates, Dumbledore stood before the room in front of his usual high-backed chair which much resembled a throne. He held his arms up for silence, which he seemed to achieve almost instantly. Harry glanced across the tables and caught a glimpse of the Slytherins whispering excitedly amongst each other. They had apparently heard what Ron had told him and Hermione. He wished those bunch of gits would mind their own business once in a while. They always seemed to be able to get into other people's matters... especially Malfoy. He was probably the one who was eavesdropping in the first place.  
"I have some presumably good news for some of you," Dumbledore began, gazing about the room at his pupils, "and I have bad news for all of you." Instantly, a buzz rose in the hall, bringing some of the professors to their feet and patrolling about, getting everyone to quiet down again. The Gryffindor table went especially quiet as Professor Snape strode on past them, black robes billowing out behind him. He seemed to give a strict sneer to each and every one of them. His eyes paused as they landed on Harry, and his expression went especially bitter. Harry simply kept a strong gaze on him, not wanting to seem weak and break away as he'd been doing during all his years at Hogwarts. Ron noticed Snape's expression towards Harry and almost succeeded in sticking his foot out in the aisle, but Harry felt his foot move and kicked at his shin. Ron made a light muffled noise that caught Snape's attention as he swooped past them. Harry was glad he had stopped Ron; he would have hated to see what kind of turmoil would have occurred had Ron succeeded in tripping Snape.  
As soon as all was quiet once again, Dumbledore continued. "The good news for some of you I mentioned is that all classes have been canceled for the rest of the day, and perhaps longer." As soon as these words left his mouth, the entire Great Hall erupted into cheers and whoops of excitement. It took the patrolling professors twice as long to get them to settle down. Harry glanced once again at the Slytherin table only to see them with their usual sniggering expressions that simply made him want to put jinxes on them all. He hated it when they looked especially evil... like they had done something to cause all this chaos. He knew that the Slytherins would never do something to the entire school that would result with classes being canceled... but they loved it when someone else did.  
Finally, Professor Dumbledore was able to continue. "The bad news is that the storm you saw coming off in the western sky is not just a lightning storm... it's the beginning of a hurricane." No one stirred. Why was this bad news? Why would a hurricane be a threat to a bunch of witches and wizards? Surely, the professors could conjure up a spell to repel it somehow. "Now, I know what you're most likely thinking..." Dumbledore continued, "why are we worried about a hurricane? The truth is, this is also no ordinary hurricane. Every fifty to seventy years, extra bits and pieces of spells being cast all over the world will join and create a furious mass of magical elements that resembles a large storm, usually formed in areas where little or no interfering spells are being cast like, in our case, over the ocean. These magical storms are called 'Abaddons'."  
The Great Hall remained perfectly silent, no one really knowing exactly how to react. Harry was beginning to have doubts whether or not he really wanted a storm after all.  
"I expect you're wondering how this will affect us. I can only say that I'm not too sure myself. Though I have seen one before approximately sixty-five years ago, I have heard that each one is different. The spells in which the Abaddons are made from will determine what damage they cause. They will whirl about and shoot spells, charms, jinxes, or even curses at random objects. Sometimes, they are aimed at people..."  
By now, every face in the Great Hall wore an expression of absolute horror, confusion, or a mix of the two. Dumbledore eyed each student, perhaps making sure that no one was about to leap up screaming bloody murder.  
"I wish that you not panic, keep calm, and follow instructions. If all this is done, no one will be in any danger. As of now, this is not an enormous threat to us, but we should stay alert all the same. We have had to cancel the classes because the professors and I will be busy doing everything in our power to ensure the safety of all students and the Hogwarts grounds." Dumbledore seemed not at all worried about the Abaddon itself, but more concerned for both the safety (and sanity) of the students.  
Harry glanced quickly at Ron and Hermione to find that they both wore the same look of confused fright as the rest of the Great Hall. No one was moving, all eyes remained on Dumbledore, perhaps for fear that he might say something else important that they would miss otherwise. Harry suddenly realized that he had been nervously folding and tearing his napkin which now lay in pieces on the table in front of him. Hermione's hands were clenched on the edge of the bench so hard her knuckles had turned white, and Ron's fingernails were chewed to bleeding ragged edges. Neville Longbottom had turned as white as a ghost and looked close to tears, while over at the Slytherin table Malfoy's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head any second now.  
The professors were standing at the ends of the tables, keeping an eye out for any students who looked like they were going to either throw up or pass out. Dumbledore suddenly smiled, "Alright then, now that that matter's out of the way, on with lunch!"  
There was not one student who didn't turn green.  
  


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	3. The Meeting

CHAPTER THREE  
THE MEETING  


  
  
After lunch, the long tables in the Great Hall held plates of food that had hardly been touched after Dumbledore's most unnerving announcement. The students were sent up to their houses to do homework, study for tests, or tidy up the dorms a bit. Although, the Gryffindors did none of these. Fred Weasley had borrowed Harry's invisibility cloak to sneak down to the kitchens where the house-elves worked and retrieve some snacks. The rest of the Gryffindors were waiting impatiently in the common room. Though everyone had lost their appetites during lunch, they were now coming back and they were all starving.  
Seamus and Dean were playing a game of Exploding Snap in the corner of the common room, while Ron was trying to convince Hermione that homework was not an important matter right now, let alone studying for the finals three months in advance.  
"Really, Ron. No wonder you're not doing very well! You're just too lazy!" said Hermione, throwing her arms up in exasperation.  
"I'm not that lazy! And I'm doing just fine. You're imagining things." Ron replied, now heading up the spiral staircase to the boys' dorm to get his chess set. Hermione spun around to face Harry, startling him some at the look of immense frustration on her pinkish face.  
"I really don't know how he can be so ignorant about these things! What does he think he's going to do after he graduates from Hogwarts? If he ever does, that is!" Hermione said all in one breath, almost talking to herself.  
"Well Hermione, not everybody has to be a perfect 'A' student, you know." said Harry, choosing his words carefully, "It's not like Ron's failing."  
"Yes, but he doesn't even try to do well! I bet if he put more effort into his work, he would get some of the top marks in the class..." Hermione said as she started pacing around slowly.  
"Hermione, if he put more effort into his work, he'd be just like you."  
"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Hermione stopped and stared hard at Harry, not angry but a little annoyed at his statement. Harry really didn't know how to answer. He didn't want to hurt Hermione's feelings, but wanted to get her to understand...  
George suddenly appeared out of no where, startling Harry so that he almost jumped out of his skin, but saving his life at the same time. "It means that Ron doesn't want to end up being just like Percy, a brainiac, the teacher's pet, Prefect, head boy. He's just trying to avoid all that rubbish. Really, Hermione, are you that blind?" Harry had thought that George said too much... but that was his problem now. He could handle it. Hermione didn't like to boss him around like she did Harry and Ron. Though, Hermione was a little miffed that George had called being a Prefect rubbish (as she was one herself).  
Just after Hermione turned and stomped up the staircase to the girl's dorm, the portrait swung open and Fred appeared carrying the invisibility cloak and two trays of food. Everyone leapt up from wherever they were sitting and crowded around Fred, trying to get a glimpse of what he had brought.  
"Hey! Give me room to breath will ya?" he said, raising the two trays in the air. The crowd around him stood on their tiptoes, some able to grab a few morsels which looked like some form of fudge cut into small squares. Fred pushed past them and put the trays on the table, which suddenly became the gravitational pull in the room.  
"Here you go, Harry" Fred said, handing Harry back his invisibility cloak.  
"Thanks. It took you long enough. Did you have any trouble?" Harry asked, folding his cloak over his arm.  
"Bloody place was swarming with professors... Every single one was out patrolling the halls. I almost ran into Snape twice! That bloke was rampaging around like a bat out of Hell! And then I terrified the house-elves out of their skins by suddenly appearing out of nowhere. They almost didn't give me anything because they were afraid I was going to bite their hands off if they handed me anything." Fred glanced around, perhaps to make sure no one was eavesdropping. "But you know what was really whacked? The professors seemed to be on to something, like they had something real important that was causing them a bit of trouble. It was mostly just a lot of frantics and cursing... You ever heard Flitwick curse? Funniest thing...!"  
Harry raised an eyebrow. Come to think of it, he'd never heard swearing from any professor besides Snape. There must have been some kind of trouble...  
Ron came back down the spiral staircase with his chess game under his arm. "Hey, Harry! How about a game?"  
"Ron! Get over here!" Harry beckoned his friend over. Ron gave him a confused look and jogged up. "Tell him, Fred."  
Fred told Ron how he had seen the professors in quite a peculiar frenzy. He then added that he'd seen several of them carrying around strange glowing objects, each about the size of a bludger.  
"I couldn't really catch sight of one, but they were the strangest things..." Fred paused, going deep into thought over the ordeal.  
"What'd Fred get for us?" Ron asked, seeming to lose interest. He stood on his tiptoes over the crowd, trying to get a glance.  
Harry looked at Ron, a bit annoyed. "I haven't a clue, but-"  
Suddenly, the door to the common room swung open and Professor McGonagall came through the portrait hole. She looked rather stressed, strands and wisps of hair sticking out everywhere. She also looked like she had been walking very quickly, her face slightly flushed.  
Everyone stopped whatever they were doing and stared at McGonagall, the common room becoming uncomfortably quiet. Harry, Ron, and Fred exchanged suspicious glances. McGonagall took a deep breath to steady herself. "The Headmaster is calling a meeting. Everyone please come with me." She tried to make her sentences short to keep from wasting breath. Everyone slowly stood and walked forward, following the professor out of the Gryffindor common room and silently heading down towards the Great Hall.  
Halfway there, they ran into Peeves the Poltergeist who thought the whole ordeal about the Abaddon was rather amusing. He began flying around frantically in circles shouting "THE ABADDON IS COMING!! THE ABADDON IS COMING!!", all the while flying through students and making a few girls shriek. He then did a couple loop-the-loops and cackled insanely, "Ohhh! What are the poor ickle kiddies going to do!! The Abaddon is coming!"  
"Peeves!! You know this is a serious matter! Think what would happen to you if this castle were to be blown away." said McGonagall, in a tone that assured the students that she was kidding, but intended to scare Peeves.  
Peeves did indeed go even paler than he already was and scowled at the thought. Not thinking of anything clever to shoot back at her, he turned and zoomed down the corridor, opening and slamming doors on his way making the group of students jump. McGonagall kept a stern face as she led the Gryffindors the rest of the way. Of any of the Professors, she was probably bothered by Peeves the most often. She got extremely frustrated very quickly and he loved to see her red in the face. Of course, she always managed to make him bugger off saying something brilliant that he couldn't answer to.  
As they entered the Great Hall through the huge oak doors, the other three houses were already seated at their tables, talking quietly amongst each other. The Gryffindor students sat at their own table, looking around for the Headmaster who, oddly, hadn't arrived yet. Dumbledore was usually the first person to arrive for meals and such. He was most likely still off with the other professors, doing whatever they had been doing for the past three hours.  
Just then, the four house ghosts glided through the wall next to the entrance, and as the last one passed through, the door opened again and the other professors came through, looking slightly disgruntled. All of their robes were hanging off their shoulders in odd fashions, giving the impression that they had been at rigorous work. They all wearily trudged up to the staff table and took their seats. The students stared uneasily at them, worried that perhaps the meeting would spill yet more bad news at the image the professors were presenting.  
Dumbledore came through the doors then, looking much more tidy than the other staff and took his place in front of his throne-like chair, gazing out at the students with a rather troubled expression. He let out a great sigh that seemed to send shivers down everyone's spine. He blinked a few times, making sure that everyone was quiet, though he wasted his time. Everyone had become deathly silent the moment he came in.  
"I imagine that you're wondering what has been going on while you were in your dormitories. Your professors and I have been working very hard to find out more information on exactly what kind of trouble this Abaddon will be causing us. This situation is not going to be as easily controlled as we thought it would be. It is very rare that a single Abaddon will be able to cover several locations in its short lifetime. Though on some occasions, one will last up to several weeks and can cause astronomical damage."  
The professors shifted uneasily in their seats while the students stared, aghast. "It is possible that this problem cannot be avoided and that we must take desperate measures to ensure everyone's safety. This may include evacuating the school grounds." Dumbledore paused, seeing as some of the students were once again acquiring that look of partial sickness. "I do suspect that the Abaddon will not be coming within our vicinity. Although, we must still take precautions and continue to work on keeping it as far away as possible. From what I can see from our speculations, it should only last a couple of days and will only cause minimal damage." Dumbledore knew that there was another option that fate could take, possibly turning the outcome of this natural disaster around and making it into the worst Abaddon earth had seen in 1,000 years. Yet, this was not exactly something he wanted to reveal to the students. Besides, the chances of that occurring were almost one in a million. Dumbledore wasn't one to keep important things from people, but this piece of information did not need to be told just yet.  
"Classes will be canceled for the rest of the week. By that time, the Abaddon will have hopefully passed."  
  


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	4. The Midnight Expedition

CHAPTER FOUR  
THE MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION  


  
  
A flash of light streaked through the swirls of black nothingness. The coursing rivers of deep colors swarmed in a hypnotizing sequence. The rumbling, thunderous roars traveled throughout the sea of space. A great mass of dark shadows rampaged into the darkness... wreaking havoc in its path...  
Harry awoke to another flash of light. He sat bolt upright, breathing hard, sweat glistening on his forehead. He felt as if his body was still being churned in that whirl pool of dark clouds. Reaching over his bedside table, he found his glasses and put them on. As the room came into focus, another bolt of lightning streaked across the swirled black and gray sky. The storm seemed to be never-ending. Outside, rain was splattering on the roofs and windows of the castle, sending millions of tiny echoes throughout its halls and rooms. Harry lowered himself back down and lay there, listening to the distant sounds of the storm all around... and something else...  
Aside from the booming thunder and the patter of rain, there was another fainter sound... like someone yelling in the halls. Not like a scream of bloody murder... more like shouts of warning. Harry sat up again, straining his ears to hear the words... he could just barely make out "wake up!" and "hurry!", but nothing else was audible.  
He climbed down onto the cold stone floor. _Something's going on down there_, he though to himself, his curiosity getting the better of him as he grabbed his wand off the table. _I'm going to find out what it is... I'm tired of being told not to worry, that everything will be taken care of for me... I need to know what's going on_. He opened the trunk at the end of his bed and took out the shimmering silver invisibility cloak. He pulled it on and over his head, then tiptoed to the door. He took a last look at the other four boys sleeping soundly in their own beds and slowly cracked the door open. Slipping quickly through and closing it again, he hurried down the spiral staircase and through the common room.  
A sound on the other side of the room made him skid to a halt and spin around. Someone was sitting in a giant armchair by the fireplace and had obviously heard him.  
"Who's there?" It was Hermione. Harry could recognize her voice anywhere.  
"Hermione! It's me..." Harry pulled down the hood of his cloak.  
"Harry! What are you doing up?"  
"I was just going to ask you the same thing."  
Suddenly, more faint shouts came from the other side of the painting covering the common room entrance. "I've been hearing that for ten minutes straight, now." said Hermione, staring uneasily at the door.  
"I was just about to go have a look see." Harry said, turning back towards the entrance.  
"Wait! I'm coming with you!" Hermione leaped up from the chair and hurried over, pulling the cloak over herself as well.  
"Hermione, I don't think that's such a goo-"  
"Hush! I'm coming with you and that's that!"  
"But-"  
"Would you rather me inform a professor of your little expedition?" She gave him a stare that almost transformed her into a spitting image of Professor McGonagall without the tight bun on the back of her head.  
"It's just... if we get caught, we'll both get into trouble. And besides, aren't you more intent on keeping a clean record for yourself?"  
"I'd just as soon eat a vomit-flavored Every-Flavor Bean than let you out into the halls by yourself at this time! Especially with all this Abaddon business going on."  
"You know, you're starting to sound like you did four years ago..."  
"Good. Now, let's go."  
Harry stared bewildered at her as she pushed the portrait door open. They both climbed out, though with some difficulty. Harry glanced up at the portrait to make sure the fat lady was there so that they didn't get locked out. She was there, and was wide awake as well. There was also a certain anxiousness about her.  
"Oh dear me. Who's there?" she asked, glancing around nervously. Harry and Hermione lifted the edge of the cloak to reveal their faces. "And just what do you two think you're doing? And with all this ruckus..."  
"You wouldn't happen to know what's going on would you?" Hermione asked. "Who's running around yelling at this hour?"  
"Dears, your guess is as good as mine. I haven't a clue what it's all about, but I do hope something hasn't gone wrong."  
"Well, if we find out, we'll let you know." Harry said, pulling the cloak back over their heads.  
"Alright, but don't think I encouraged you into this. I think it's wrong and dangerous to be out of your dormitories in the midst of all this chaos."  
"Don't worry. We'll be fine." Harry reassured her as they slowly started down the hall, following the continuous shouts and hollers. As they came to the end of the corridor the sounds could be heard to the right, but seemed to be growing steadily fainter. They turned towards them and continued down to a door. Harry reached out and tried the handle. It was locked.  
By now, they were used to this kind of obstacle. Hermione took her wand out of a pocket in her bathrobe. She pointed it at the door handle and whispered "Alohomora!" The door swung easily open, and they tiptoed through into another long, dark corridor with a staircase at the end. They continued to travel through halls and doorways, and down many flights of stairs, then up some. The castle was now silent except for the occasional echoes of distant footsteps, and the bellowing rumbles from the storm outside.  
The two of them jumped when they heard a door slamming in a hall not too far off. After exchanging nervous glances, they continued to yet another staircase that lead up into a deathly silent unknown. They stared up into the darkness, now thinking that perhaps they should turn around and find a different route. A bright flash of lightning illuminated the hall just enough so that they could barely make out a gradual curve in the stairs, turning around a shadowy corner and out of sight.  
Harry turned to Hermione. "Maybe we'd better turn around." Hermione nodded somewhat anxiously. Just as they started back down the hall in the other direction, more shouts caught their attention, echoing off the walls in the distant darkness beyond the staircase. They glanced at each other, now afraid that they'd have to tackle the mysterious, eerie unknown after all.  
"I really don't like the looks of that flight of stairs, Harry." Hermione said, staring towards it with an expression of almost pure fright.  
"Neither do I... But that seems to be where the sounds are coming from. Maybe if we could find some source of light..." Harry glanced around for a torch or lantern that was set low enough to reach. He spotted a candle sitting on a windowsill at the base of the stairs, melted to just an inch above the holder. It looked like it had been sitting there for at least an hour or so... which was just about how long they had been hearing the voices.  
Harry took a slow, quavering breath and motioned for Hermione to follow him. They walked to the tall, paned window and paused a moment to examine the candle.  
"Do you think someone else has been here already?" Hermione asked, almost dreading the answer she might hear.  
"Maybe... but if so, why didn't they take the candle with them?" Harry gazed at the melty candle, deep in thought. "Perhaps... perhaps they didn't want to be seen when they got to the top of the staircase, wherever it leads." he said, now somewhat drawn towards it, with a desire to explore. "We might as well go and see what's up there." Harry found himself with a new sense of courage.  
"Alright, I suppose." Apparently, Hermione wasn't feeling the same. After Harry took the candle in a steady hand, they began towards the stairs, walking very slowly at first. As they started up the first couple of steps Hermione clutched onto Harry's arm, quite paranoid. The walls, though far apart, seemed to lean in towards each other in the darkness. Quick footsteps, slams, and shouts were heard clearer and louder than ever in the distance. The flickering light from the candle created dancing shadows and eerie shapes on the darkened stone surfaces.  
They slowly followed the curve in the stairs, the darkness seeming more and more pressing as they climbed each step. Around a final bend, a small wooden door only about five and a half feet tall appeared. It had a round, knocker-style door handle with beautiful designs and patterns engraved into it. Harry and Hermione stopped at the door and listened for anyone that might be in the room or hall just beyond it.  
A low, drawling voice came from behind the door. "Take them out. I'll go down and retrieve some more ingredients." It was Snape! What was he doing in there? What did he need ingredients for? Harry and Hermione barely had time to think before they heard footsteps coming straight for the door. They both turned and frantically raced down the stairs, as they heard the door creak open. "Who's there?!" Snape shouted just after they rounded the corner.  
As they spotted the lighted hall at the bottem of the stairs, they could hear Snape hurrying down after them. Harry practically threw the candle at the windowsill where it had originally been sitting and it luckily landed upright, if hanging over the edge slightly. They sprinted down the hall as fast as they could, the invisibility cloak hanging off their shoulders now.  
They ran back up corridors, staircases, and doors until they finally found the hall with the painting of the fat lady hanging on the far wall. Breathing hard and exhausted, they trudged up to the portrait.  
"P-.. pickle juice." Harry wheezed, trying to draw in his breath.  
"Oh, I'm so very glad you've gotten back safely, dears. I was worried sick!" The fat lady swung her portrait open and the two climbed back in.  
As the door closed and they were once again in the safety of the common room, Harry and Hermione exchanged looks of combined horror and relief. Without another word, they both turned their separate ways up to their dorms, too sleepy to wish each other "good night".  
As Harry snuck back into his room and tiptoed across the floor, he considered what he had seen... that candle sitting there, the mystery door,... and Snape. What had he been doing in there? And who was he talking to?  
Even more questions filled Harry's mind as he dropped the invisibility cloak back into his trunk and climbed into bed. The thunder and lightning continued in vain outside the window, gusts of wind and rain battered at the glass. Harry removed his glasses and set them on the table by his bed, trying to clear his brain of the incessant queries.  
He lay down, pulling the covers up to his chin and dreamed of a dark, silent staircase...  
  


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	5. The Good News

CHAPTER FIVE  
THE GOOD NEWS  


  
  
The tenseness filling the air in Hogwarts castle was thick enough to begin with, what with the stress of school work and pressure being put onto the students. Suddenly, everyone was in a state of uneasy awkwardness, not to mention half of the students sending owls home telling their families to come and retrieve them as soon as possible. Though, Dumbledore had already sent out letters explaining what was going on and that, in fact, Hogwarts was one of the safest places to be in the instance of an Abaddon. No other location housed as many capable witches and wizards and was as highly protected with a wide array of charms and enchantments.  
Even so, if it was found that the Abaddon would be passing over Hogwarts, the students would be immediately sent home. That is, if it was found out in time. It was possible that the Abaddon could change its course so suddenly that the only option to resort to would be to keep everyone down in the dungeons, which was the safest place in Hogwarts in the case a natural disaster. Though, this situation wasn't likely to occur, as the chance that the Abaddon would become an incredibly destructive one.  
The students continued their fun and games in their dormitories, though it wasn't as if everything had been resolved and their was no more worry of a disaster. No one so much as mentioned the Abaddon, because it always seemed to arouse nervous vibes which made a most unpleasant atmosphere. No one dared to ask the professors on any updates, as they were afraid of hearing more bad news.  
"I'm sick of being cooped up in here!" Hermione exclaimed Tuesday afternoon, attracting much attention in the common room. "Haven't they done enough research or whatever they're doing on this Abaddon thing?!" Everyone gawked at her, the tenseness all around growing to a maximum. "Why won't they let us out? It's not like we need chaperones to accompany us everywhere." She ignored the astonished stares from every Gryffindor and proceeded up the stairs to the girls' dormitory, probably to think up more things to rant about. Harry and Ron were sitting with Fred and George, admiring all the new inventions the Weasley twins had conjured up for their joke shop. They weren't half as surprised as the others, seeing as they were used to Hermione's complaints about things that no one would mention. Harry had actually joined in on some of the arguments Hermione got into. He thought her logic was very sensible, but sometimes he would bring up his own opinion. Though, he usually avoided getting too involved as this would give Hermione all the more reason to continue raving. Ron simply stuck his fingers in his ears and hummed whenever Hermione started something. He absolutely loathed these situations and thought Harry was mad for "encouraging" her.  
Harry let himself gaze at the staircase that Hermione just climbed and wondered if he should go retrieve her, telling her how silly she's being. He wanted to do something, but another unknown force kept him rooted to the spot and he simply sat and stared. It wasn't until his mouth started hanging open slightly that he felt a nudge in the ribs. Ron had given him a good jab and he snapped awake. Fred and George sniggered at the sudden expression of total bewilderment and Harry felt his cheeks reddening.  
"What the bloody hell was that?" Fred asked, smirking.  
"Wha-...? What was what?" Harry said, still in a slightly confused state.  
"You looked like you'd been walloped in the head with a bludger. Your eyes glazed over and everything." Fred now looked slightly concerned.  
"Alright Potter, what are you smoking and how come you're not sharing?" George joked.  
Harry grinned in embarrassment and tried to shrug off the questions, but the twins persisted.  
"C'mon, Harry! We won't tell anyone if you like Hermione." Fred said out of the blue.  
Harry's head jerked up. "WHAT?! _Like_ Hermione? That.. that.... that's absurd! Why-?"  
"Why else would you stare longingly after her?" George said, now adding sarcasm into his voice.  
"I was not staring longingly!!" Harry shouted, rising to his feet.  
"What? Now you're going to go confess your love to her?" Fred asked, grinning wickedly.  
Harry glared at the both of them, wishing the few people in the common room who had started staring would stop. He could feel his face burning now.  
"Hey, bugger off, will you? Maybe he doesn't want to tell you anything." Harry could always count on Ron to keep people off his back. Fred and George exchanged knowing glances and stood.  
"Alright, but I know what I saw and it wasn't nothing!" Fred said shaking his head slowly. "Harry, remember, if you need to tell _something_ to _somebody_, we've got the biggest mouths in the school!" Fred winked.  
Harry sighed and sat back down as the twins went off to find someone else to show their vast array of inventions to.  
"They were just joking, Harry." said Ron.  
"I know, but they just make it sound like they're going to do something.... bad." Harry said wringing his hands.  
"They won't. They're not like that. They'll just bug you about it for a while. Remember when we all found out that you were a parseltounge? And they followed you around shouting 'Make way for the Heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming through!'?"   
Harry chuckled. "Yeah... they're good for a laugh any day. But some things just... I really don't want them saying anything around anybody. You know how _some people_ here love gossip." he said, glancing in Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown's direction.  
"Well, at least you don't have to live with them."  
"One more year, Ron. Then it'll just be you and Ginny."  
"Yeah! I can hardly wait!" They both laughed. Then Harry's expression turned ever so slightly sad.  
"It must be great having siblings."  
"Well, you have a cousin."  
"Ugh! Don't remind me! I'm ashamed to know that I'm related to that pig!" They laughed again.  
  
At dinner, the atmosphere of the Great Hall was a little more upbeat than it had been. The students were more talkative and the professors looked on a good note, except of course Professor Snape who seemed to have his usual 'stay out of my bloody way!' air about him. The meal was excellent and for the first time in days, Professor Dumbledore seemed to glow.  
The house ghosts were chatting merrily at their respective tables with the prefects and once Peeves even swooped in and tried to pelt people with handfuls of mashed potatoes. He couldn't seem to upset anybody, so he eventually disappeared through a wall, swearing to himself. Even the Bloody Baron gave off a grin or two every now and then.  
Harry once again sat in between his two best friends as they continued their snide remarks and quick glares at each other. It wasn't as bad as yesterday, but he still wanted to be safe. Fred and George thought it was the most hilarious thing in the world that Harry wanted to sit next to Hermione two days in a row. Harry knew they were just trying to bug the heck out of him, but wished they would shut up all the same. Hermione was starting to give them questioning glances. Harry doubted they wouldn't say anything to her. Probably something like "Someone's got a crush on someone and I ain't saying nothing!", but Hermione was too quick-witted not to figure that one out. He hoped Ron was right, that they would keep their traps shut... yet he couldn't help but worry. He had also been wanting to discuss the events of the previous night with Hermione...  
Professor McGonagall tapped her fork on her glass for silence. The Great Hall grew steadily quieter, and the Headmaster stood slowly, beaming. This time, he was sure to say something that would help everyone sleep tonight.  
"This last day has been a most stressing one, and I know that all of you have been concerned for what will come of this situation. I now have some good news!" The Great Hall slowly rose into applause and cheering that brandished a feeling of great excitement. Dumbledore's eyes sparkled with radiance towards his pupils. "The storm is staying on its course and will not be approaching our direction. We will not be affected by its wrath!" The cheers grew louder and the professors simply sat and smiled brightly, letting the students rejoice. "Also, your families will not be it its path as it is heading due south and will stay along the sea." His words were barely heard over the echoes of shouts and joyous laughter.  
As the noise grew slowly quieter, Professor McGonagall stood and raised a hand for silence. "Classes will be back on schedule and you are to resume them tomorrow morning." No one seemed to mind this. In fact, everyone rose from their seats and the cheers erupted once again. McGonagall was slightly surprised by this sudden change of mind, but certainly didn't say anything.  
Heaven knows never to object when a student cheers for more school!  
  


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	6. The Missing Professor

CHAPTER SIX  
THE MISSING PROFESSOR  


  
  
Even though the days grew darker and heavy with wind, rain, and hail, the Hogwarts castle continued with its good cheer. Classes resumed, yet Care of Magical Creatures was moved to the dungeons since the weather was simply murderous. The windows throughout the castle had been sealed shut to keep curious students from opening them and causing a riot that Mr. Filch would have to clean up after.  
From the way that Snape was acting, you'd have thought someone had hugged him that morning. He was scowling harder than ever and assigned extra homework, he said, to keep everyone busy.  
"I'll bet he was hoping that the Abaddon was going to blow us all away so he could have revenge or something." Ron commented as they made their way up the stone steps from the dungeons.  
"Don't be silly, Ron, honestly. He probably just gets in a bad mood when he's forced to work hard." Hermione said, pondering the idea of telling Ron what she and Harry had found the night of their exploring.  
"And why are you sticking up for him? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're actually growing fond of Snape!" Ron seemed to shudder at the very thought.  
"I am not growing fond! It's just that it seems more sensible, doesn't it?" Hermione was again forced to her logic.  
"Well, I can see why Snape would be all hot and bothered about this... but, it's getting better." Harry said, contributing to both Hermione's and Ron's opinions.  
"Maybe Snape knows something that we don't!" Ron suggested. Hermione gave Harry a questioning glance. He shrugged lightly.  
"Okay, Ron... There's something we have to tell you." Hermione started, pulling him by the sleeve to a halt. "Late Monday night, Harry and I heard someone yelling."  
"You heard it too?" Ron asked, eyes growing wider.  
Hermione nodded. "And we both snuck out to see what was going on."  
"You snuck out?!" Ron exclaimed. Harry almost thought he was going to object. "And you didn't take me with you?!"  
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Anyway, we found this door at the top of a staircase and heard Snape in there. He said something like... oh, what was it he said, Harry?"  
"He said 'Take them out.' Then he mentioned something about going to get more ingredients." Harry said.  
Ron's eyes were bulging. "So Snape _is_ up to something!" he said.  
Hermione held up a hand, "Now, wait a second. Let's not point fingers just yet. That's a mistake we've made too many times before."  
"You have to show me that room, though! Let's go tonight." Ron said belligerently, continuing down the hall as if suddenly engaging himself in a mission.  
"No, Ron, we almost got caught! It's too risky." Hermione said, running to catch up with him.  
Harry came up beside her. "Yeah, Snape has probably done something in case we come back... like rigging the door to holler if anyone touches it or something..."  
"Well, I'm going anyway," Ron said stubbornly. "Even if you two aren't coming with me."  
"You won't have my invisibility cloak in case someone sees you." Harry told him, testing his courage.  
Ron gave him a look of sudden disappointment. "But... I'll be sure to get caught."  
"Exactly!" said Hermione, acquiring her stern look. "Going by yourself would be suicide! It's precisely what I told Harry that night. If you're going to go, take someone with you." Ron glanced at her, raising an eyebrow. Hermione suddenly wished she hadn't said that.  
"Ron... if you're really serious about going..." Harry began, staring at the floor as he walked. "I'll go too."  
"Harry!" Hermione glared with a hint of betrayal.  
"I kind of want to know what's in that room, too." Harry admitted. Hermione rolled her eyes, shook her head at the two, and quickened her pace to start on her way to Muggle Studies. Harry and Ron continued to Divination with Professor Trelawny in her nauseating, incense-clogged classroom in one of the towers.  
The Divination lesson was quite amusing. Professor Trelawny had asked the class to give a prediction of the future life of another student. Ron somehow managed to predict that Harry would loose all of his appendages one day, then wrestle a crocodile the next! He had a difficult time convincing Trelawny that he hadn't made it up, while Harry (along with most of the class) almost fell out of his chair with laughter.  
They met up with Hermione afterwards in the Great Hall for lunch, though she didn't seem pleased to converse with either of them. She was undoubtedly quieter, which made the other two nervous and equally speechless. Ron tried to make a comment about how hard the cooks must be working as the recent meals had been excellent. This simply brought up remarks on Hermione's past struggles to give justice to the house-elves down in the kitchen.  
"I don't think they mind working in those conditions, really." Ron said, trying to cover things up.  
"I don't care whether they mind or not, it's the fairness in all of it." Hermione fumed, still not looking at him.  
Harry jabbed an elbow in Ron's ribs. "Leave it." he mouthed. A hit from Hermione was the last thing he wanted to see (though he doubted she would sink that low). The meal wasn't as good as they hoped, predominantly because the three of them had lost their appetites in the tension. Even so, Hermione ate without a hesitation or complaint, while Harry and Ron played with their food for a while.  
Their next class was Defense Against the Dark Arts with the new professor, and Triwizard Tournament champion from last year, Fleur Delacour. Hermione was ecstatic to finally have a female dark arts teacher. Ron felt the same deep inside, though didn't express it in any way to avoid bringing up the twinges of embarrassment from the year before.  
Most of the boys in the class found it extremely difficult to concentrate, as Professor Delacour was part veela, a nymph-like creature who's beauty can bring men to their knees... or jumping out of windows, whatever.  
As they entered the classroom and found their seats near the back, they noticed that the Professor had not yet arrived. Usually, she spent lunch in her office, jotting down notes in French on a clipboard. Today, there was a certain lack of- well... a teacher, sending curious conversation about the room. Ron gave a slight hint of disappointment, sitting in unusual silence. Hermione simply glared up at the chalk board.  
Suddenly the classroom door opened, but the individual who emerged was not one Professor Delacour, nor was it Snape who was usually a substitute (being rather greedy for a stab at Defense Against the Dark Arts). It was Professor McGonagall with a grim expression plastered on her face. She strode to the desk and faced the class.  
"Professor Delacour is unable to attend class today, so I will be substituting for now." No one dared ask where Snape was, for fear of McGonagall calling on him to be their substitute instead.  
It was no use fibbing to the Professor when it came to what they had been learning in the past few days. She obviously knew exactly what she was doing. The lessons were even harder, simply because McGonagall was a stricter teacher than Delacour... And homework was even worse! Everyone groaned and complained when she assigned a 3-footed-parchment essay. "To keep you all busy" was her excuse.  
When class was over, most of the students rampaged to the exit as quick as possible to avoid more homework. Harry, Ron and Hermione were the last in the crowd. As they passed by the front desk, Harry caught a glimpse of a sheet of parchment on Professor Delacour's clipboard. It was written completely in French with only a few words that he recognized. Some words that caught his attention were "Professeur S-"... but he couldn't catch the last few letters; and he didn't dare turn around to get a better look with McGonagall keeping a close watch. Could that have possibly been "Professor Snape"? Why would she write something about him in her notes?  
When they were out of the classroom and down the hall a ways, Harry stopped and grabbed the other two by their robes.  
"Did you see the notes on Delacour's desk? The ones in French?"  
Hermione and Ron exchanged glances, then shook their heads no.  
"I think I read something about Professor Snape on them... though I'm not sure." Harry said, staring bemusedly at the floor.  
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Did you read anything else?"  
"Yeah, but it was all in French." Harry began slowly down the hall again, deep in thought. The others followed closely.  
"What a pile of-... what's anything she's concerned with have to so with Snape?" Ron said bitterly. There was a hint of jealousy in his voice.  
Harry said nothing for a few seconds... then quietly "Are we still going to check out that room tonight?"  
"If you still do, I'm for it." Ron replied, almost whispering. "How about you, Hermione? You sure you don't want to come?"  
"I've seen it, thanks. I'm not about to be almost caught twice." Hermione said sourly, walking ahead of them. One thing was for sure; she certainly held some major grudges!  
  


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	7. Notes In French

CHAPTER SEVEN  
NOTES IN FRENCH  


  
  


  


Much to Ron and Harry's dismay, every Gryffindor stayed up late that night, complaining of too much homework. It wasn't until almost midnight that the Weasley twins finally went up to bed and they were left in silence, playing Wizard's Chess.  
As soon as the last sounds of "getting ready for bed" died down, the two of them slipped on Harry's Invisibility Cloak and went straight for the door, taking the Marauder's map with them as well.  
They climbed silently out of the portrait hole, then pushed the entrance closed. As Ron turned around and started walking he was almost yanked off his feet. Harry had remained standing, staring up at the Fat Lady's portrait.  
"Ron... bad news." He pointed up at the painting. There was definitely something wrong with it -- the Fat Lady was gone!  
"Oh no... Harry, maybe we'd better stay hear until she comes back. I mean, if we get caught we'll be trapped!" Ron was almost astonished at himself, being sensible for once.  
"Well, maybe by the time we come back, she'll be there. We may have just as much chance of being caught sitting right here than anywhere else." Harry glanced down the hall at the other picture frames in case the Fat Lady was nearby. "I have a feeling she will be. Come on, let's go." Ron was pulled by the arm down the rest of the corridor to the stairs, protesting nervously all the way.  
Harry managed to remember most of the turns they took those few nights ago, and it took them considerably less time to finally arrive at the long, flame-lit hall which led to the dark staircase.  
Just as they started down towards the stairs, faint shouts from just ahead were heard. They were coming from the mysterious room! It wasn't as loud or urgent-sounding as it had been, though this made it more difficult to hear the words.  
Harry and Ron exchanged glances, then immediately took out the Marauder's Map. Now they'd know precisely who was in there without actually risking a peek inside.  
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Harry whispered to the map, and thin black lines and drawings appeared as the rooms of the castle. His eyes quickly flew to the spot which showed the most people. Ron and himself were shown as two labeled dots in a hallway, the one they were standing in now. There were two other dots a few inches away up the staircase. The dots were labeled "Severus Snape" and "Fleur Delacour"!  
Both boys' eyes were widened. They looked up at each other again.  
"What are Snape and Delacour doing in there?" Ron whispered to Harry, "Do you think they've been working together on some kind of project?"  
"It's possible... after all, Snape did say the other night that he was going to retrieve more ingredients for something." Harry gazed back down at the Map as if it were hiding some kind of clue that was invisible anywhere else.  
"But why is Delacour in there too? She doesn't know all that much... only coming out of school last year." Ron gazed down at the map as well. "Do you think we should wait here for them to leave, then see what's in there?"  
"I'm not sure if we should even risk that. If they leave, it most likely won't be for very long."  
"Then what'd we come all the way out here for?!"  
"We _were_ going to have a look in that room, but we can't now, can we?"  
Just then, the door up the stairs creaked open, a faint light shining down the dark staircase. Harry and Ron froze, listening hard for any voices. For a second, there was complete silence. Then, a man's voice, Professor Snape's, echoed down into the hall. Harry pushed Ron to the wall and they both stood as flat against it as they could.  
They could make out a second voice, Fleur's. As the sounds traveled down the stairs the words became clearer.  
"-possible zat zey will not work zis time." Fleur's voice held a hint of anxiousness and as her creamy, angelic face appeared from the darkness of the staircase in the light of a candle, it expressed the same. Snape followed just behind her, an unusual look of concern or worry etched in through the lines made from his constant scowling.  
"I doubt they'll fail this time. We've spent too much time on them to-"  
"You know and I know zat any slight disturbance could ruin zem completely. Zey are very delicate. Zey must be 'andled properly." Fleur almost seemed angry with Snape.  
His concern quickly turned into annoyance. "We've no time to waste making sure everything's taken care of _properly_. The most important thing is that we get it done and over with!"  
As the two professors passed Ron and Harry, the corner of Snape's robes just barely whipped Harry's leg. He must have felt the slight tug, for his head turned just enough to glance behind him out of the corner of his eye. Harry held his breath, standing as still as he could though trembling uncontrollably. Snape paused only a second, then continued on almost nonchalantly, though retaining a watchful eye.  
Harry snatched Ron's sleeve and tugged it to get his attention. He nodded towards the dark staircase and they both slowly started down the hallway. Harry continually glanced over his shoulder to make sure Snape and Delacour weren't making an early return.  
When they reached the base of the staircase, they could only barely see the first five steps or so. Harry looked around on the window sills for a lamp or candlestick as there had been the other night. There was not one to be found and the flickering torches that lit the hallway were at least a good ten feet off the ground. Harry sighed and turned around again to face the darkness of the stairs.  
"We have to go up there with no light?" Ron said, his voice wavering. He gave Harry a nervous glance.  
"I guess so." Harry replied, just as shaky. He took a courageous step forward, Ron following close behind, the invisibility cloak tugging him along. They slowly climbed the shadowy staircase, keeping a hand on the wall so as not to run into it in the dark. Soon enough, it was pitch black except for the faint light behind them from the torch-lit hallway. Harry could feel the wall making a gradual curve and he turned with it. He made sure to feel each step with his foot to keep from tripping.  
A faint sound from behind them made Harry stop dead, Ron running into him. They both stumbled forward and Harry braced himself on the wall while Ron clutched onto his robes.  
"Shhh!" Harry said, and they both fell silent. From the hall came the faint, yet unmistakable voices of Snape and Delacour. Harry could feel Ron starting a panic attack and grabbed onto his arm, hauling him up the rest of the stairs before he could do (or say) anything. He wrenched open the door and yanked Ron inside, shutting it quietly behind him.  
When they both turned around, there was not much to see. The room was just as dark as the staircase. A low fire crackled in a stone-set fireplace and they could just make out another door on the other side of the room. Harry could somehow recollect being in a similar room... or was it just because of the fire that it was familiar? Either way, Harry had no time to muse on it. The voices from the other side of the door were slowly rising in volume.  
He pulled Ron to a dark corner of the room and they fit themselves as snugly into it as possible, tucking the invisibility cloak tightly around them. A low creaking indicated the door opening and the echoes of the two professors' voices entered the room.  
"It looks like our candle 'as gone out." Professor Delacour's voice said. "I didn't zink it would. We weren't gone zat long."  
"I believe it was somewhere over in this direction..." Snape responded somewhat annoyed, footsteps moving across the stone floor. Sounds of a hand clapping on what seemed like a wooden shelf echoed in the room and rustling of papers. Then, more footsteps... suddenly, a crash!  
Harry and Ron heard Snape's voice cursing from somewhere on the ground. They both tried to hold in a snigger.  
"Severus? Are you okay?" Delacour shouted from near the door. Her footsteps were heard crossing the room to where Snape's scrambling sounds were coming from. "What 'appened?"  
"It was that bloody chair sitting right there. I must have tripped over it and knocked some things down." He started to fumble around on the ground, searching for anything that might have fallen off the desk. Harry and Ron could hear Snape's hands and feet clapping and sliding on the floor, picking up papers, quills, and other strewn objects. In the faint light, Snape's outline was barely visible and was slowly approaching.  
The rustling sounds were now only a couple feet away. One individual piece of parchment had drifted onto Ron's foot and would have looked peculiar if the room had been lighted, floating halfway in midair. Snape reached his hand out towards one that Harry was only inches away from, then turned in Ron's direction. Harry could feel Ron flinch and try to scoot back further into the corner. Snape's hand inched along the floor, trying to find that last piece of paper. It raised into the air, directly over Ron's foot... then froze.  
"You know, this would be much easier with some light. Let's see if we can't go find another candle or lamp of some sort." Snape pushed himself to his feet, brushing off his robes. He strode to the door with Delacour following, then, finally, exited the room. The younger professor shut the door behind her with an unintended slam, making the two boys in the corner jump.  
After five seconds, Harry and Ron let out their breaths and stood, somewhat awkwardly under the cloak. The only thing they knew to do now was to get out of there before the professors returned again. They crept across the stone floor, Ron slightly bumping into the upturned chair. Harry stepped on what sounded like a piece of paper and paused, yanking Ron to a halt as well. He kneeled down and felt around for whatever it was he stepped on. He found a corner of a piece of parchment which had been ripped.  
"Come on Harry, quit fooling around! We have to get out of here!" Ron urged, tugging on Harry's robes.  
"Right" Harry said, standing once again and following Ron to the door. He stuffed the paper into a pocket as Ron pulled the heavy door open and stepped out, shutting the door again behind them.  
They jogged briskly down the stairs, it being much easier to see where they were going since they were facing the light of the hall. When they arrived at the landing, they glanced down the torch-lit corridor to make sure the coast was clear. Not a soul was in sight, so they continued off at a jog. The boys were rather nervous on their way back, starting at any small sounds or creaks. It was plainly uneventful, though, returning to Gryffindor tower. It seemed to take an eternity, but was actually a new record! Harry now knew the way by heart, and Ron didn't hold him back being a faster runner. They were breathing hard when they approached the Fat Lady's portrait.  
They both leaned over, trying to catch their breath and Ron muttered "Pickle juice...". When only stillness answered him, the two of them looked up and a sudden sense of dread washed over them. The Fat Lady hadn't returned!  
Just as a lump began to rise in Harry's throat with panic, a high voice rang in the hall. "Just a moment, dears! I'll be right there!" Harry and Ron breathed a sigh of relief as they saw the Fat Lady rushing through picture frame after picture frame, her fluffy pink dress rustling.  
She did a funny leap into her own frame and sat down, trying to catch her breath. Pushing some wisps of hair back into place she let the portrait swing open. Harry pulled the invisibility cloak off of them both and folded it up. Ron crawled in through the portrait hole with Harry following. The portrait closed with a click behind them and they trudged to the fireplace, plopping down in two overstuffed armchairs.  
When their heart rates resumed to normal, Harry remembered the odd piece of parchment he had stuffed in one of the pockets in his robes. He pulled it out and uncrumpled it. Ron furrowed his brows at it.  
"What's that?" he asked, leaning forward to get a better look.  
"I'm not sure. I picked it up off the floor after Snape knocked over the chair." In the dark room he couldn't make out the words on the paper, but now in the light of the fire he could see that he wouldn't have been able to read it anyhow. It was handwritten with purple ink, completely in French. Though, it was torn off so that some sentences would be illegible.  
  
_Aujourd'hui, le dernier des l'orbes ont complet. Je suis confident de ça, l'orbes vont travailler la prochaine fois. Mon  
Nous avons manque des ingrédients necessaire pour la potion. Professeur S  
demain. Nous allons étudier la  
Je réga_  
  
"Do you think Professor Delacour wrote that?" Ron said, now out of his seat, kneeling by Harry's chair.  
"She must have. Who else here speaks French?" Harry turned the page over, hoping to possibly find something on the back. His breath caught in his throat.  
  


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	8. Secrets

CHAPTER EIGHT  
SECRETS  


  
  


  


There was more writing! It looked like a signature, but it was only a few letters.  
  


_Professe  
D _  


Ron and Harry exchanged wide-eyed glances.  
"Delacour did write it!" Ron said, taking the paper and looking hard at it, as if there were something hidden in the fibers. Suddenly, Harry swiped it back and stared at the front, eyes wide.  
"Ron, this is the same paper that I saw sitting on Delacour's desk earlier today! Er... yesterday, I mean." he said, glancing up at the huge clock near the staircase.  
"How do you know?"  
"Well, for one thing, it's in purple ink. She always uses purple ink. And it also has _that_ written on it." He pointed at the 'Professeur S'. "Remember when I told you and Hermione about it?"  
"Oh yeah, huh!" Ron replied, sounding a little absent-minded.  
"Yeah, huh!" Harry said in a mocking tone. He laughed and hid his face behind his arm as a pillow was suddenly chucked at him. He leaned over the side of the chair and picked the pillow up. "It's two-thirty in the morning. I think we should get to bed. We can show it to Hermione tomorrow, see what she thinks about it."  
At this, Ron suddenly looked indignant. "Why are you always wanting to let her in on _everything_?! You know what she'd say! She'd simply tell us to show it to Dumbledore resulting in the both of us getting into trouble! That's always her logic."  
Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "She doesn't always say that! Besides, she's better at solving these things than the both of us put together."  
"But what if she tells a teacher on us?"  
"She wouldn't!"  
"But-"  
"Has she ever?"  
"Well... no."  
"Then, there you go!"  
Ron stared down at the floor, opening and closing his mouth several times like he wanted to say something but wouldn't allow himself to, as if it would incriminate him. Harry shrugged. "I just think it would be a better idea rather than to keep it from her. And you can imagine how she'd react when she found out we didn't let her know about it."  
Ron's eyes widened slowly. Then, with an anxious sort of tone, muttered "We'd better tell her then, shouldn't we?"  
"Uh huh." Harry grinned with amusement. All those familiar with Hermione knew never to keep major secrets from her. She always found out sooner than you planned, and that just made it all the more disastrous in the end.  
  
Harry awoke the next morning with a dull soreness in his neck. Spending the whole night hunched over under the invisibility cloak sure didn't do much for his spine. He rolled over, sliding his feet out onto the floor and sat up. He reached for his glasses and put them on. Ron was still asleep, his form visible behind the scarlet curtains surrounding his four-poster bed.  
Harry's eyes fell once again on the torn piece of parchment on his beside table. He read the strange words over and over to himself, though it still did no good. What did they say? There was no way to find out unless he asked Delacour herself... and he didn't dare. The only thing he did know was that they said something about Professor Snape. A voice in the back of his head told him that he somehow didn't want to know. Harry grinned and snorted, trying to hold back a laugh. He mentally slapped himself for being so sick-minded all of a sudden and pushed the idea away. That, hopefully, wasn't a possibility! Harry cringed at the thought.  
  


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More to come soon!  



End file.
